august 7 2012.. me and my workmate Charm left our BPO office in Pasig at 4:30 am.. we were able to reach ortigas at 5:30..and we were soaking wet.. from there i took a malanday bound bus.. when we arrived in cubao, i had this uneasy feeling that i would not arrive home at 6:30 am as usual... it was so cold in the airconditioned bus and the live TV coverage of the flooded areas in the metro made me shiver and scared.. scared that i would be stranded in the middle of edsa..
the bus managed to move slowly and at 8:30 am, we reached munoz.. i can see from the window that the flood is already more than knee-high.. then the anchor of GMA said that commuters are advised to return if they are gonna pass thru balintawak as the area is no longer passable.. monumento has been declared as not passable earlier.. i was left with two choices, shud i go back to Pasig where i will be safe in my company's sleeping quarter but how can i go back with all transpos stuck in the middle of nowhere..or shud i just go ahead and go home..i decided that it's best if i go home..
d conductor returned our money and advised us to just walk.. it was in this situation where i realized that even if u have money, it won't be able to save u in this kind of situation...
.. i braved the rain and i was scared to feel the strong current of water and if u are not careful, there's the possibility of stepping on a manhole and risk drowning..
.. when i saw Balintawak LRT, i sighed a breathe of relief, only to be shocked with what i saw.. balintawak became a river of filth (think of balintawak market).. i stood infront of puregold balintawak just observing the movements of the people around me and there were several who offered to assist me for a few pesos.. "pantawid-gutom" as they call it.. i declined their offer as i find it hard to trust people in emergencies like this..can't blame me for we hear lots of stories where victims are victimized by heartless thugs..
then two guys approached me and asked me where i am going, i answered. sakayan papuntang PUC, they told me to walk with them as it is dangerous in that area, not only with masasamang loob but with manholes as well.. i don't know why i trusted those two but to make the story short, we walked and half-swam the filthy balintawak-edsa that became a river of unthinkable filth.. my heart went out to those banana vendors who tried helplessly to save their panindas.. i didn't see a shallow hole and i went, oppppppsssssss.. good thing the other guy was fast to help me. wala ng hiya-hiya pala pag ganitong sitwasyon..
finally we were able to cross the balintawak-edsa-river.. i thanked the two guys especially the one who patiently assisted me, i asked for his name and he said arthur.. i secretly glanced at his id and it says there, carlos mordiva, MMDA.. i secretly laughed coz i have this BAD notions about the MMDA guys, thy are already synonymous with KOTONG... .. i was wrong, may mababait pa din pala sa sector nila..
..but my ordeal didn't stop there.. when i arrived at my jeepney stop, the area is also flooded.. we were advised to just walk.. some of those who wanted a shortcut walked over a gutter and for those of us who are scared, we had to ask assistance from the tambays to accompany us till we reach our destination.. and of course with a price... sabihin na nating pan taxi from caloocan to pasig..
..i arrived home at past noon and i can't wait to have a cup of coffee and rest my tired aching feet and shivering body but what i saw weakened me, my house is also wet.. but that is another story.. i am just thankful that i survived the great flood of 2012...
i just wish that the rain will stop now and hopefully we learn from it like the walang kamatayang, "ang basurang itinapon mo, babalik sa yo" and i also pray that we as a nation will be able to survive this..
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